# Redact a PDF

> Redact a PDF in your browser. Draw boxes and burn them so covered text is not recoverable from those pages. No upload. Not a full sanitizer.

Burn boxes on your computer

Redact PDF covers regions and burns them so the download is not a black rectangle sitting on live text. Draw boxes on a page preview. Apply to this page, or copy the same boxes onto every page for a repeating header. Redacted pages are rasterized in the browser so the words underneath are not extractable from those pages.

True sanitization of every PDF object type is hard in-browser. We burn the boxes and flatten those pages to images. Attachments, metadata, and unused objects may still exist. This is not an NSA-grade sanitizer. Unlock encrypted files first. Close the tab and the working files are gone.

Free. There is no paid tier. No account. They stay on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.

## How to redact a PDF in your browser

1. Drop one PDF. The preview is drawn locally with PDF.js.
2. Drag rectangles over what should disappear. Delete a box if you miss.
3. Copy boxes onto all pages if the leak is a header or footer.
4. Redact and download. Redacted pages become pictures of the page.

## Redact PDF without uploading

Cloud redaction tools see the secrets you are trying to hide. This page never receives the file. You will not get a forensic sweep of every metadata field. You get burned boxes and rasterized pages, done here.

## Questions

### Is the text under the black box really gone?

On redacted pages, yes enough for ordinary extraction: we rasterize the page after filling the boxes. A copy-paste of those words should fail. Other PDF objects are not fully sanitized.

### Why not just draw a black rectangle?

A rectangle sitting on top of live text can be removed. That is why this page flattens redacted pages to images.

### Can I redact the same header on every page?

Yes. Draw the boxes, then copy them onto all pages before you apply.

### Is this NSA-grade redaction?

No. Be honest with yourself. Metadata, attachments, and unused objects may remain. For court-grade sanitizing, use a dedicated desktop tool.

### Does redact upload my file?

No. Work happens in this tab. Close it and the working files are gone.

## Related tools

- [Protect PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/tools/protect-pdf.md): Password the redacted copy.
- [Compress PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/tools/compress-pdf.md): Rasterized pages can be heavy; shrink after.
- [Crop PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/tools/crop-pdf.md): Cut a margin instead of covering it.
- [Organize PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/tools/organize-pdf.md): Delete whole pages that should not be sent.
- [Split PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/tools/split-pdf.md): Send only the pages that remain.

## Tasks

- [Redact a PDF](https://lovethispdf.com/redact-a-pdf.md): Burn the boxes, do not just cover them